


Miru

by run_sure_footed



Series: Mod Froglets [9]
Category: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Cartoon)
Genre: Anxiety, Bribes, F/F, Mating Season, Nothing explicit, Paranoia, Stalking, Threats, Young Love, childhood stutter, mentioned public sex, the usual Mod Frog stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:07:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29887767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/run_sure_footed/pseuds/run_sure_footed
Summary: Kwat has her eye on someone, and Jamack offers to help her out.
Relationships: Kwat/Frog OC
Series: Mod Froglets [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2061339
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Miru

Jamack watched Kwat while he checked over Froglets’ reports.

Kwat paced. She stopped and looked over her reflection in the water again. Everything was still perfectly neat, but she fussed with her tie and pocket square again anyways.

She was nervous, and Jamack wasn’t entirely sure why. She was _never_ nervous, not since they were Froglets.

She had gotten back from patrol with Jamack and Harris not long ago, just long enough to clean herself up and find a place outside the offices where she knew she’d be able to catch a glimpse of Miru. Where she knew Miru would have to walk out past her, look her over, maybe give her a chance to strike up a conversation, even.

Miru gave Kwat a tired wave, barely containing a yawn. This was only her second mating season as a full-fledged Mod Frog, and there was something of a tradition of running new Frogs ragged in the days leading up to it. At least once it started she’d have a bit of a break—even though no one had offered to mate with her ahead of time, she was taking advantage of the fact that she could stay at the Pond anyway and not have to be sent out on patrol. It was almost like a break—or it would be, if she didn’t find a mate. She wasn’t sure which option she preferred. Being so young and not an egg-layer, she knew she wasn’t in very high demand, and she was _so tired_ , but at the same time…it would be nice to let out some of the mounting tension she remembered all too well from the year before.

Kwat waved back, grinning. She could see Miru was exhausted and her resolve to speak to her disappeared. Kwat shouldn’t bother her now, she needed to rest. Still, she stayed frozen in place until Miru was out of sight. Only then did it seem like she could breathe again.

Jamack stood, taking his current report with him. It was a mess from content to execution, the whole thing would have to be rewritten and he wasn’t going to waste his time pointing out every mistake. “Hey,” he said, sidling closer to his friend. “What was that about?”

Kwat blinked like she hadn’t understood him, crossing her arms over her chest and putting on her ‘silent giant’ expression. She didn’t think it would keep Jamack from bothering her, not for long, but there was a small chance it might work so she had to try.

He elbowed her gently. “Who’s that?”

She elbowed him back, much harder. “What?”

He smiled up at her. “Come on, I know you better than that. Who is that?”

She shrugged one shoulder, trying to look disinterested. “I don’t know. Some older Frog.”

Jamack rolled his eyes, setting the report aside. “Sure, yeah, you just straightened up and fussed over your tie to smile at ‘some older Frog.’”

“I would do that for any older Frog!” Kwat protested, her voice rising sharply. “Just because I’m not a slob like Harris…”

Harris looked up from the small desk where he was working on yet more reports, banging his fist on it. “Hey! Rude!”

Jamack laughed. “Yeah, but this was above and beyond, even for you. Come on, it’s me.”

Kwat groaned. As much as she loved Harris, in her own way, she would have preferred to do this without him around, with just Jamack. But since it seemed to be happening now… Everything tumbled out in a rush. “Her name is Miru and she’s a year ahead of us, but we’re actually the same age because I was a Tadpole a year longer than the two of you, and she’s really good at…well, _everything_ , but especially at collecting protection money—she usually gets more than we’re asking for—and she doesn’t have a mate again this year, and…” She finally managed to stop the flow of words, breathing a little heavily.

Harris whistled. “Fuck, Kwat, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say that many words in your life, and now you said all that at once? You’re fucked,” he laughed, grinning and shaking his head.

Kwat glared at him.

“Ok, ok.” Harris put his hands up in mock-defeat. “I’ll leave you two alone to…talk,” he said with distaste. “I think I just remembered something I have to do. Right outside.” Looking very pointedly at Kwat, he shuffled the papers he was dealing with into a very tidy pile and brushed past them to guard the door. He didn’t want to have any part in this conversation, not really, or even hear it, but he could at least keep them from being interrupted.

Jamack’s expression was nearly as surprised as Harris’. He’d had absolutely no idea that Kwat had an interest in a specific mate, and he liked to think he was a pretty observant Frog.

He waited until Harris had closed the door before he said anything. “You got to go on patrol with her, I’m guessing?” As new as they were to being fully fledged Mod Frogs, the three of them were shuffled around through patrols to see where they were most useful. Eventually things would settle down and Jamack was hoping the three of them would begin to patrol together all the time, like they’d always talked about as Froglets.

“No! Are you crazy? Of course not! That would be a disaster!”

“Why would that be a disaster?” Jamack stifled a laugh, knowing that Kwat was serious, for all that she was being uncharacteristically dramatic.

“I can’t talk to her!”

“Why not? You’re clever and charming, you’ll be fine,” he assured her.

“No, I mean I _can’t_ talk to her.” Kwat glanced around, making absolutely certain no one else could hear her. “I stuttered,” she admitted, barely audible.

Jamack’s eyes widened. “Oh.” Kwat hadn’t stuttered much since they were twelve-year-old Froglets, but Jamack knew that every once in awhile her words seemed to seize up if she was particularly stressed. Kwat had finally outgrown her cruel childhood nickname ‘Mega’—coined for both her size and her silence, since her reaction to her constant stutter was to simply stop talking altogether unless forced. “Yeah, that would be bad. I can’t believe this stresses you out so much,” he admitted. “Can I help?”

Kwat swallowed hard. She’d expected that Jamack would understand, not that he would tell her she was just being silly.

She already knew that.

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s fine,” she said, trying to keep her voice light.

“Oh, _yeah_ , you can go in—if you want to go through my bat!” Harris’ voice came through the door, followed by the sound of rapidly retreating footsteps and Harris’ laughter.

“I didn’t say it was fine,” Jamack said. “I asked if I could help.”

“You also said you didn’t know why it stressed me out so much,” Kwat reminded him grimly. Now that she’d started with this talking business, she couldn’t seem to stop.

“I only meant that you’re usually the calmest of the three of us. But this is different, this isn’t anything we were trained for, it’s a relationship.” As Jamack spoke, it suddenly seemed obvious to him. Of course Kwat was nervous! This was uncharted territory, with a Frog she didn’t know well. It could go great, but it could be disastrous for her if she stuttered in front of a Frog she couldn’t trust. Relationships were frowned upon between Mod Frogs. Mates were allowed to spend time together openly only during mating season, otherwise they were simply a weakness that you kept hidden. “What if I did some reconnaissance for you? I can find out what she likes. I can even talk to her—but only if you want me to,” he reassured her.

“Really? You’d do that for me?” Kwat couldn’t stop an unseemly amount of excitement from sliding into her voice.

“Yeah. Which part?” he chuckled. It was almost cute, seeing Kwat so excited. She was not generally a Frog that he’d consider cute.

“What do you mean? All of it, all of it!” It was too late to hide what she was feeling from Jamack now, so she thought she might as well just fully commit.

“Alright. Give me two days,” he said with a grin. Luckily mating season was just beginning, and it lasted for two weeks. Kwat would still, hopefully, have plenty of time to enjoy with her mate, once she succeeded. And Jamack was sure that she would.

*

Jamack used every trick he knew to get information on Miru. He threatened and bribed the Frogs closest to her—though a couple of them were too loyal to give him anything, which he respected, after only hurting them a little. He traded supplies for secrets from the Pond Frogs, who tended to know everything about everyone. He stalked her silently, finding the entrance to her burrow after three attempts to follow her there. Mod Frogs were masters of deception, experts at losing a tail, and even though Jamack was certain she didn’t know he was there, that kind of paranoia paid off for a Mod Frog in their everyday life.

When he was sure she was out of the Pond, he even snuck into her burrow, something that could get him killed if he was ever caught or found out. It was clean, nothing valuable lying around. Really, there was only the soft heap of moss that she used as a bed. He got out of the burrow carefully, slipping away from it and down into the water, silently.

Most of the information he found was hardly usable, unfortunately. He found he liked her more and more with each new thing he discovered. She was a quiet Frog with a gravitas that could silence even some of the older Mod Frogs. She was a careful and precise fighter, wickedly clever, and a master of threats. Some of the Frogs who knew her had chattered on about anything he’d asked about, but the three Frogs she patrolled with most often refused to answer Jamack and that spoke volumes about how much they respected her. Jamack generally knew if someone was doing something out of fear or not, and these Frogs weren’t staying quiet because they were more afraid of Miru than him. They were doing it out of loyalty, something almost impossible to find amongst Mod Frogs.

She was a remarkable Frog, and Jamack could understand Kwat’s attraction to her.

Finally, with only those few things to tell her, he went to Kwat with the information he’d gathered, feeling a little dissatisfied with what he had to offer.

Kwat’s eyes lit up when she saw Jamack. She could tell that he was bringing her what he’d collected, and waiting had been almost unbearable. She’d been more or less useless the past few days, which had invited endless teasing from Harris until she’d wanted to wallop him and turn him into a squeaky toy. “So?” she said, as calmly as she could, practically vibrating with excitement. _This is it._

“I can see why you like her,” he remarked, trying to hide his grin. Seeing Kwat so enthused was rare, but always nice. “I found out a lot of details about her that I’m sure you already know, what she’s like and what her skills are. You might not have known how loyal her friends are—some of them wouldn’t talk.” Which Jamack thought was saying something—he could get pretty much anyone to talk about anything. “She doesn’t have any prospects right now. No one’s openly courting her. The only real ‘secret’ I discovered is that she spends some of her free time embroidering her clothes where it won’t show, and only in colours that match the fabric.”

Kwat felt her expression go momentarily soft. _She embroiders her clothes!_ It was so strange, so sweet, so unexpected and frivilous and almost Jamack-ish. She elbowed him with a grin. “Guess you’re not the only strange one around here, huh?”

He smirked, shaking his head at her. “We all have our secrets. You just happen to know all of mine. What’s your next move?”

“Not _all_ of them,” she assured him. “Just most.” She wrung her hands, glad no one else was around to see her in this distress. She sighed. “I…honestly don’t know,” she admitted, which was hard. She hoped he’d offer his help without her having to ask.

“I can talk to her next, if you want, but I don’t want to overstep,” he admitted.

Kwat swallowed hard, then shook her head. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I-I’ll talk to her. I will. Tonight?” It came out as more of a question than the firm, confident statement she’d intended it to be.

“Yeah, tonight,” he said, encouragingly, patting her arm.

*

It was only late afternoon when Jamack was approached by Miru.

“Jamack, right?”

Jamack hid his surprise, wary of being approached by someone he’d been stalking over the last couple of days. Had she found out? He’d thought he’d covered his tracks pretty well, but it was possible one of her more loyal colleagues had told her what had happened. “Yes, that’s right.” He didn’t admit to knowing her name.

“I have a few questions for you.” She was rushing things a bit, but she was impatient. Grinning, she reached into her pocket. “In exchange for something, of course.” She produced a handful of brightly wrapped candies. She didn’t know about Jamack specifically, but most Frogs had at least something of a sweet tooth. If he didn’t like them, she was sure he’d be able to trade them further along.

“Of course,” he said, grinning back at her and accepting the candies. “Ask away.”

“About Kwat…” she began, leaving the thought open ended to see what direction he’d take it.

Jamack gestured for her to follow and sat at the edge of the lily pad they were on. “What about her?” He played ignorant.

She gave a soft huff of laughter. “Well, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s mating season. I haven’t seen her in the Pool. Is she interested in finding a mate?”

Jamack tried to hide his excitement. “I happen to know that she is. She might even have her eye on someone. I think her name is Miru?” he said, innocently.

“Really? Well. Isn’t that interesting.” Miru grinned at him, flicking her eyes to one side to draw his attention. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s someone glaring at you from over there. Or maybe it’s a dragonfly.”

Jamack glanced over to see Harris giving him an icy look. “His name is Harris,” he corrected. Dragonfly was what most of the older Mod Frogs called Harris, and it was usually meant in a demeaning way. Jamack had gotten very used to calling them out when they said it. Miru didn’t seem to be insulting him, at least.

She laughed. “I know. Everyone knows about Harris.” She leaned closer to him. “But I think he’d like to get to know _you_ a little more,” she suggested, feeling light and airy now that she knew she had pretty much secured a mate of her own.

Jamack wasn’t sure how to react to that. Was she suggesting Harris would want to be his _mate_? That wouldn’t be allowed openly, neither of them could produce eggs! Instead he focused on Miru’s intentions. “Good luck with Kwat. She likes chocolate, by the way.”

“Who doesn’t?” she called over her shoulder, waving at him. She wasn’t sure where to find Kwat, so she decided to retreat to the mating section of the Pond, assuming Kwat would find and meet her there later if she was genuinely interested and that Jamack would probably see her first.

Harris had left by the time Jamack stood up. Whatever. If he was really angry, they could talk on patrol, later. For now, he had to find Kwat. He turned to look for her and very nearly bumped into her, towering over him.

“What was that about?” Kwat asked, arms crossed over her chest again.

“Don’t look so grumpy, you’re going to like what I found out,” Jamack chuckled.

She just gave him a level look.

“I didn’t approach her! You asked me not to. _She_ approached _me_. About _you._ ”

“You… Wait, what?” Kwat stepped towards him, bending down slightly to get closer.

“She’s interested, Kwat, she wanted to know if you were looking for a mate.”

“Oh. Oh!” Her grin practically split her face in two. Turning, she glanced at the sky. The sun was low, almost hidden behind the bridge at one of the Pond’s edges. “I should, uh…” She gestured behind her, still looking at Jamack.

“Yeah, I’ll see you after mating season,” he snorted.

“Shut up!” she called after herself, flipping him off and laughing.

Kwat ran down to the Pool, which was already filling with Frogs. Some were already paired off—some were already mating, and she politely averted her eyes—while others were waiting alone or in small groups to see if they’d get a chance later on in the night, or when their mates returned.

Miru was leaning against one of the stones forming the edge of the mating pool, holding a drink and looking around without trying to be too obvious about it.

Kwat stepped down into the water, which was still slightly warm from the sun because it was so shallow. She waded over to Miru at an oblique angle and without looking directly at her.

Miru looked up and croaked when Kwat got closer, setting her drink down on the rock and grinning. “I was hoping I’d find you here tonight.”

It took several minutes of half-aroused, half-anxious croaking for Kwat to be able to reply in words—though she thought she’d made her intent more than clear enough. “Hi, M-Miru.”

_Fuck!_

She couldn’t believe she’d stuttered! She hadn’t done that in years, and now, when it mattered most…! She started to turn away, knowing she’d ruined her chances. And after all the work Jamack had done.

A firm but gentle hand on her arm stopped her. “Hey. I hope you’re not planning on leaving after we’ve just said hello.”

Kwat turned back to her. Miru’s hand dropped from her arm down to her hand, squeezing it in her own. Kwat croaked again, and was answered by Miru.

**Author's Note:**

> credit to BlueOatmeal for Kwat's cruel childhood nickname. We love your wicked ideas.
> 
> Sorry about the long wait between fics, guys, I'm gonna try to post more regularly again. This is the last of the Mod Froglets series. we have After Kipo coming up next! We never found the inspiration to write some of the fics we wanted to start with, but I'm just gonna post what we do have and maybe we'll add to it later, who knows.


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